If someone has just died, go straight to what to do when someone dies in Thailand.

Start here

This site explains what happens when a foreigner dies or loses capacity in Thailand: the hospital, the police, the district office, the embassy, the court, and where the process stalls.

It draws on British, American, Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and Irish government guidance and the Thai Civil and Commercial Code. There is a separate page for British, American, Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and Irish nationals, because the six governments do not agree on who counts as next of kin. Sources are named on every page.

Three things people get wrong

  • What happens to your partner

    If you are not married, Thai law gives them no standing. Not to collect your body, not to inherit, not to act for you.

    Read this first 

  • The will you made at home does not reach your Thai assets

    It can be recognised here, but that takes translation, legalisation and a Thai court. Months, and significant legal costs.

    Why it stalls 

  • The power of attorney you signed is void when you need it

    Thai law has no durable power of attorney. An ordinary one ends the moment the person who gave it loses capacity.

    What replaces it 

The main pages

  • If it has just happened

    Who to call, in what order, and what has to happen in the first days.

    What to do now 

  • What happens when someone dies in Thailand

    The sequence, step by step, from hospital to cremation.

    What happens, in order 

  • Only one original death certificate is ever issued

    It goes to whoever reports the death, who may not be the person who needs it.

    Why that matters 

  • Who can legally act

    And who cannot, whatever your wishes were.

    Who has standing 

  • What a Thai will does and does not cover

    You need one. It still will not fix most of this.

    What it will not fix 

  • If you lose capacity rather than die

    Thailand has no durable power of attorney.

    What happens instead 

Before you go further

Is this legal advice?

No. It is general information about how the system works, written in plain English and sourced to government publications and the Thai Civil and Commercial Code. Your circumstances are specific and I do not know them. For those, see a Thai lawyer.

Do I still need a Thai will?

Yes. This guide is not one and does not replace one. A professionally drafted Thai will is inexpensive and necessary.

Can any document give my partner the right to inherit?

No. Nothing you write can grant an unmarried partner a right that Thai law withholds. Anyone telling you otherwise is selling something.

Who writes this?

Greg Berryman, a long-term foreign resident of Phuket, trading as an Australian sole trader under ABN 83 951 623 827. Not a lawyer.

Where this site describes Thai law, it has not yet been reviewed by a Thai-qualified lawyer. That review is being arranged.

When it is done, the reviewer is credited separately by name, with a date. More on the about page.

The two packs

The pages are free and stay free. There are two packs, and which one you need depends on whether this has already happened.

Affairs In Order Thailand: the guide, $49. For planning, written for people living in Thailand.

  • Asset and document inventory. Where everything is, so nobody has to guess.
  • Next of kin authorisation letter. The wording the embassies ask for.
  • Nationality modules. British, American, Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and Irish, because the six governments define next of kin differently.

After a Death in Thailand, $39. For a death that has already happened, whether you are here or dealing with it from another country. Sixteen pages, printable.

  • The checklist, in order: the first hour, the first day, the first week, and before the body moves.
  • The call sheet and the record log. Every number you need, and what each office said it would do.
  • The funeral director brief, and the decision sheet for cremation here or repatriation home.
See the guide See After a Death in Thailand